Finally! I have holidays! High season is over, then my colleagues went on holidays and now it's my turn. I was thinking about how many days to take off from work, where to go, with whom etc. I never knew how long I will still be here in Norway and there is still so much to see and do, so many great places to visit. Among those the Lofoten, a group of islands in the North of Norway. They are a beautiful destination the whole year round, but best season for a visit is summer. So why not planning a tour to the Lofoten? In September I wouldn't make it to go there and later it wouldn't be anymore the perfect time for it.
Then my parents called and said they wanted to visit me and suggested to come end of August. I said this would be the time I would take my summer holidays and also that sometime and in somehow I would want/have to see the Lofoten. So I told my parents, "you can come here end of August under one condition: you travel with me to the Lofoten." They agreed and I started - being at the source of supply - organising the whole itinerary. So let's have a look at the outcome:
LOFOTEN - that's where it goes to:
Lofoten is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland in Northern Norway, lying within the Arctic Circle.
It is well known for its natural beauty within Norway. The Lofoten Islands are characterised by their mountains and peaks, sheltered inlets, stretches of seashore and large virgin areas. It therefore offers many rock climbing and mountaineering opportunities.
North-east of the Lofoten lies another archipelago, the Vesterålen, which are separated from the Lofoten by the narrow Raftsund (known under its touristic name Trollfjord).
Fishing is next to tourism the main source of income on the Lofoten. The Lofoten fishing season, for which several hundreds of little fisher boats gather, takes place from mid January to mid April. Main catch is cod(fish) which is then processed to tørrfisk, that is "clipfish" (=salted) or "stockfish" (=unsalted) by drying them on those wooden racks spread all over the islands. The endproduct is then nearly all exported (mainly stockfish to Italy and the clipfish to Portugal and Spain).
THE ITINERARY:
By the way each day has a separate post - and this is the first!
My parents arrive Wednesday 18/08. They will stay two nights at my place.
Day 1 - Friday morning 20/08 we take the plane with Norwegian Airlines from Oslo to Bodø. Arrived in Bodø we take a rental car for six days, drive the whole day along the Europaveien E6 on the mainland up to Harstad, gate to the Vesterålen where we stay at Clarion Collection Hotel Arcticus.
Day 2 - On Saturday 21/08 we leave from Harstad along the E10 to Stokmarknes where we go on board a 3 hours cruise with the famous Hurtigruten boat through the Trollfjord to Svolvær and further on to Henningsvær. Overnight at Henningsvær Bryggehotell.
Day 3 - Sunday 22/08, we drive further southwards via Borg to Leknes and finally to Mortsund where we stay in the typical "rorbuer" (fisher cabins) at Statles Rorbusenter.
Day 4 - On Monday 23/08 drive to one of the most beautiful place of Lofoten, Reine, where we stay in the charming Reine Rorbuer.
Day 5 - Next day, 24/08 has only Eliassen Rorbu on the programme for the overnight. Let's see what the day brings.
Day 6 - Tuesday 25/08 means return back to mainland. I booked the Torghatten Nord ferry from Moskenes to Bodø in the afternoon. Overnight is planned at Rica Hotel Bodø.
Day 7 - Our flight from Bodø back to Oslo leaves in the morning of Wednesday 26/08.
After that tour, from 26 - 30/08 my parent still stay in Oslo. They had booked a little studio apartment at Frogner House Apartments right around the corner where I live.
All those many pictures we have taken during this trip speak for themselves. So I guess I won't write that much anymore. The pictures speak volumes!
I have tried to reduce them to a minimum but at a certain point I couldn't be bothered anymore reducing them even further. So I hope there are not too many repeating photos in the following posts.
Friday 20/08: Oslo - Bodø - Harstad
Our flight up to the North:
We picked up our car from Avis - a BMW 1(?) with Engelbert and me as drivers - stored all our luggage...
... and let's go!
Along the coast of the mainland:
We stop at Tysfjord Turistsenter /Turisthotell, close to Bognes, where we send most of our groups in the North for lunch. It's idyllically located at the water front.
We continue to Bognes where we take the Torghatten Nord ferry to Skardberget.
Continuation along the road in direction of Narvik.
After a long day on the road we finally arrive at our destination Harstad, check in to Clarion Collection Hotel Arcticus and enjoy a little dinner at the hotel's restaurant.
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